Fugitive Slaves and Spaces of Freedom in North America

This volume explores the experiences of runaway slaves by defining different spaces of freedom they inhabited and providing a groundbreaking continental view of fugitive slave migration. It investigates sites of formal freedom, semiformal freedom, and informal freedom, and discusses slaves' motivations for choosing these destinations, the social networks that supported their plans, and how slave flight impacted broader debates about slavery.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 334 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2020
Publisher: University Press of Florida

This groundbreaking volume offers a fresh perspective on the experiences of runaway slaves by exploring the various spaces of freedom they inhabited. It provides a comprehensive continental view of fugitive slave migration, venturing beyond the traditional regional or national approaches to encompass locations in Canada, the United States, North and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Through a meticulous examination of newspapers, advertisements, and new demographic data, the contributors shed light on how significant events such as the Revolutionary War and westward expansion shaped the lives of runaway slaves. They delve into the realm of formal freedom, where slavery was abolished, and refugees found legal respite, to assess the extent to which fugitive slaves truly experienced freedom in places like Canada, while still facing the pervasive influence of racism.

In sites of semiformal freedom, such as the northern United States, fugitives' claims to freedom were precarious due to the conflicting interplay between state abolition laws and federal fugitive slave laws. The contributors showcase how local committees strategized to interfere with the work of slave catchers, actively protecting refugees from capture.

Sites of informal freedom emerged within the slaveholding South, where runaways who deemed relocating to distant destinations too risky formed maroon communities or attempted to blend in with free black populations. These individuals resorted to various tactics, including procuring false documents or altering their names, to evade detection and pass as free. The essays in this volume explore the motivations behind slaves' choices of these destinations, the social networks that supported their plans, the challenges they faced upon settling in their new societies, and the profound impact of slave flight on broader debates about slavery.

By reimagining the map of escape and emancipation during this period, this volume emphasizes the profound significance of place in shaping the meaning and extent of freedom. The contributions of the esteemed contributors shed valuable light on the diverse experiences of runaway slaves and their enduring quest for freedom across continents.

Weight: 516g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780813068367
Edition number: New ed